A jazz player who looks like a Bollywood hero? As New York Timesjazz critic Ben Ratliff wrote, "Sachal Vasandani was a total surprise:He looks like the leading man in a Bollywood musical, but is a verytraditional jazz crooner in the great tradition of Billy Eckstine andEllington's Eckstine equivalents, Herb Jeffries and Al Hibbler.He sang swingers and ballads, and he scatted with surprising ease."

Vasandani, who grew up in Chicago, is probably the only Sindhijazz singer around! He was a singer at this year’s Lincoln CenterJazz Orchestra presentation of Don Quixote. You can swing alongwith him this month at Singers Over Manhattan (Oct. 20, 21, 22)in Frederick P. Rose Hall, overlooking Central Park. He is featuredalong with jazz vocalists Carla Cook and Jennifer Sanon, backedby the Eric Reed Trio.DOSA-LICIOUS!Dosas are the new pizzas! Americans are acquiring an insatiableappetite for those lacy crepes from the south of India and dosajoints are popping up all over. Along with the traditional dosas,savvy entrepreneurs are introducing new flavors for a new audience.

One of the dosa-pioneers in Long Island is Jay Jeyasri, whoseHouse of Dosas sees a steady stream of Americans asking for— Gunpowder Masala Dosa! After this volatile concoction was writtenabout in a local review, Jeyasri has experienced a huge demand for it.“Americans now eat more spicy than us,” he says. “They take outtissues and are sweating, but they finish it and they love it! We evenhave Koreans who want it very spicy.” Other favorites with the nonIndian customers are the Spinach Masala Dosa and the Paneer Dosa,while kids love the Cheese Dosa, a triangle filled with Amul cheese.The Cheese Masala is a blend of cheese, onions and potatoes.For the truly adventurous or the geographically confused, Jeyasri evenhas a Chinese Dosa, which is filled with vegetable noodles and slicedinto four pieces.

Actually, an non Indian couple, Gary & Isabel MacGurn latched on to theversatility of the dosa in 1997 when they started Hampton Chutney Co.in Long Island, introducing such offbeat fillings as Grilled PortobelloMushrooms, Balsamic Roasted Onions, Spinach and Goat Cheese andAvocado, Fresh Tomato, Arugula and Jack Cheese. There's even aBreakfast Dosa with eggs, spinach, roasted tomato, cheese and avocado.Hampton Chutney has a very popular location in Soho and a new one isopening uptown.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Next time you go out, check if you're in aclothes-free zone first. Then dress appropriately.India has obscenity laws and you're sitting ducks.Only Sadhus/Fakirs can get away with nudity here.This could happen to you:

Tourist charged for bathing nakedIndian police have brought charges against a Finnish touristfor bathing naked in a holy lake in a Hindu pilgrim town,a police officer said on Monday.

Police said the tourist walked to her hotel in the nude aftertaking a dip in the lake in Pushkar in the desert state ofRajasthan Saturday, angering several local people and priests.

"We have framed charges of indecency against the ladytourist from Finland under section 294 of the Indian PenalCode (IPC)," Sugan Singh, a police officer in Pushkar, told Reuters.

Under India's obscenity laws, the tourist can be imprisoned forthree months or pay a fine.- Yahoo News article via Reuters

Carlos Santana casts a spell on fans everywhere he goes.Whether it's his music, his line of women's shoes or hisnewfragrances for men and women — both namedCarlos Santana — the star's fans follow his every step.

"He can sell anything," says Gilbert Garza, who was firstin a lineof hundreds to meet the star as he signed hisfragrance bottlesrecently at Foley's in the Galleria.Hugging a bottle of the men'sversion — a musky scentin a bottle inspired by a guitar — Garza said he's been afan since the '70s. "I like his music, hisstyle, his spirit,everything."This article is:http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/features/3404497

Here's Carlos' explanation of why he thinks he isn't 'selling out' :"Humans are becoming more aware that cake and icecreamtaste better when you share them," Santana said."Because ofthe lessons Mother Nature is teachinghumans, I feel that we arebecoming a better place.For me, the clothes, the shoes, thecologne, it's all aboutgiving back."

Who said Fish and Chips is a joke?asks owner of new restaurantLondon, Oct. 23: This might come across as a little cheekybut a South Asian, Iqbal Wahhab, 41, has just opened anew restaurant called Roast in southeast London with theaim of educating the British that their food does notdeserve to be the butt of jokes.

Wahhab, a Bangladeshi who is best known for running themost expensive Indian restaurant in Britain — the Cinnamon Clubin Westminster is the haunt of top politicians — now intends todo his bit to restore the reputation of British food.

After a two-week trial period, the Roast in the heart of the ancientBorough Market formally opens for business tomorrow.

It will offer traditional dishes such as Roast Beef and YorkshirePudding, Bangers and Mash (sausages and potatoes), Fish andChips, Steak and Kidney Pie and items less well known such asCullen Skink (Scottish soup made with haddock) with Quails’ Eggs.- from Telegraph India.com

Sunday, October 23, 2005

The tech market in Bangalore may be racing ahead,but it is a very different story for India's 700 millionfarmers. Spencer Kelly ( Reporter, BBC Click Online)has been to Northern India to see how plans to bringtechnology to rural areas are working.

"...in many villages you will not find even a single mobile phone.But SMS technology can be used in different ways.

For example, one village is hoping to replace its message boardwith, quite simply, an LED display connected to a SIM card. It is placed in an area where most of the villagers will meet and discuss things, and is strapped to a tree.

But this is where delicate, city-built electronics failed to fulfiltheir tough rural roles. Getting the message board to a useful place, but still keepingit near to an electricity supply, was a challenge. A few joltsduring the journey to the village were enough to break the receiver. So the village will not be receiving any messages at all until it canbe repaired. But one novel solution of providing a mobile connection stood out. It involved strapping a GSM-enabled payphone to the back of abike and transporting it from village to village, giving locals theopportunity to call friends and relatives in the cities. Incoming calls, though, are still a bit of an issue. Mobile phone, Indian styleThere clearly are advantages to introducing technology into ruralareas. But the equipment has to be both hard-wearing and easyto maintain. Otherwise, the suppliers service reps could be in forsome very long journeys."

The earthquake in Pakistan having killed more than 70,000people and left another 3 million homeless with winterclosing in. Scores being the E. 60th St. club where aMissouri businessman is said to have squandered$241,000 in a single visit. A diplomat's husband is said tohave spent $129,626 the very next night.Read :Miserable Quake Response

Friday, October 21, 2005

Objecting to showing Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha in their revue Bonheur, a lawyer from Mumbai has served notice to the world’s most celebrated cabaret, Lido, asking them to remove the scene that hurts the religious feelings of Hindus.

Lawyer Sudhir Shah said that he had watched the revue of Lido on September 27 at Champs Elysees in Paris and his religious sentiments were deeply hurt.

"I have served a notice to the Lido asking them to remove the scene from the revue," he said....no Hindu could tolerate a scene where topless cabaret girls are shown dancing in front of Lord Shiva’s idol and Lord Ganesha is shown dancing with topless women...- Other than that, the Topless show was great ?(frEd)

This reminds me of my niece Raisa who drives around Punelooking like a Ninja sometimes, when she's all dressed in blackwith a white dupatta.

lPhoolan Devi a.k.a. The Bandit Queen was a gangsterleader who was captured, jailed, raped, released and laterelected to Indian Parliament.A champion of women's rights, she was murdered in 2001 andwas the subject of a biographical (non-Bollywood) film in 1994.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Saddam on Trial - with ZZ Top"I Rock ! I Rock !!" screams ex-DictatorPicture taken just before Saddam's failed attemptto take over ZZ Top. Later, he was led offstagewhile mumbling the lyrics to "Crazy".Stay tuned...

Monday, October 17, 2005

The Western fascination with the exotic andmysterious has always included the IndianSari, Salwar Kameez and Dupatta.Here is a Link to a gallery from sify.comshowing Westerners who enhance their imageby donning traditional Eastern garments.I believe the effect is enough to make them feel(and look) like Maharanis for a day, but I'm reallywaiting for nanga din...

Friday, October 14, 2005

Paperwork and holidays among the setbacks in delivering aidBy NEELESH MISRAAssociated Press

TILGAM, INDIA - The wool blanket -- gray, blue and greenplaid with fringe -- started out in a New Delhi governmentsupply office. Loaded onto a rickety yellow truck with tentsand other Indian-made blankets, it traveled north toearthquake-stricken Kashmir.

That took one day.

The blanket sat for two more days in the town of Baramullabecause quake victims did not have the right paperwork.On Wednesday, the blanket was taken to another town butheld up by a Hindu holiday.

By Thursday afternoon -- five days and 650 miles after it leftthe Indian capital -- the blanket was in the hands of a retiredfarmer with one kidney and 20 grandchildren.

The blanket's journey reflects the long, bureaucracy-tangledprocess of disaster relief in India, a country of more than 1billion people that every year faces some of the world'sdeadliest natural disasters, often with thousands killed andwounded and thousands made homeless.

So far, 23,000 people are confirmed dead, but the death tollis expected to climb further, officials said Thursday.

After a 620-mile trip, government aid workers unloaded theblanket Monday from the truck and packed it with othersupplies into the deputy commissioner's compound in Baramulla.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

He runs seven hours at a stretch, sometimesas much as 48km (30 miles). On a daily basis.And Budhia Singh is just three and a halfyears old.

When Budhia's father died a year ago, his mother, whowashes dishes in Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern Indianstate of Orissa, was unable to provide for her four children.She sold Budhia to a man for 800 rupees ($20). But the youngboy came to the attention of Biranchi Das, a judo coach andthe secretary of the local judo association. Mr Das said henoticed Budhia's talent when scolding him for being a bully."Once, after he had done some mischief, I asked him to keeprunning till I came back," Mr Das told the BBC. "I got busy insome work. When I came back after five hours, I was stunnedto find him still running."Story by Sandeep SahuBBC News, BhubaneswarPublished: 2005/09/13 14:40:00 GMT

Monday, October 10, 2005

"Where do you work?" is the one question to which Kyan Bharucha has no easy answers. The 28-year-old is physically present at an office in Churchgate, his mind is thousands of miles away — overseeing a job fair in North Carolina, chasing an electrician in Kansas; ensuring that a trash truck arrives punctually at a soon-to-be-opened store in Manhattan.

Bharucha works for Steve and Barry’s University Sportswear and is part of a Mumbai-based team that sets up new retail outlets on the other side of the globe.

He and his local colleagues may never see the actual space that they are transforming into a cheery clothes shop, but they are responsible for every little detail — from architecture and visual merchandising to recruiting shop managers. "We set up about 70 stores a year, and in a sense make miracles happen from India,"says Bharucha who, as head of the Projects Team, has to ensure that every wastebin, lightbulb and sweatshirt is in place for the grand opening of each new store. "We constantly have to use our brains. The most frustrating part is convincing people that I don’t work in a call centre."

Indeed, Bharucha is one of a growing number of Indians who are riding 'the second wave of outsourcing'. The first breaker hit Indian shores about five years ago and brought with it an estimated 348,000 jobs with call centres and back-office outfits — not to mention flotsam like India-bashing websites and digs about 'techno-coolies'. This time round, however, the advertisements in newspapers and on Naukri.com require more than mere Shalini-turned- Sallys to answer the phone with a faux-Philadephia accent.

As they arrive, they find a world divided into nichesBy ELLEN SIMONAssociated Press

NEW YORK - The story of how Cornelia Zicu came to start aFifth Avenue spa and the story of Abdul Wadud training hiscousin to sell fruit on a corner across from Madison SquareGarden are stories as old as immigration in America.

Just as some neighborhoods have a concentration of peoplefrom one country, so do some jobs, as one family memberbrings others from the old country and helps them find work.

For instance, Indians and their descendants own 50 percentof the nation's economy lodging properties, 1 million rooms inall, according to their trade group, the Asian-American HotelOwners Association.A 1997 report by the Carnegie Endowment said that in everydecennial census from 1880 to 1980, immigrants in the UnitedStates were significantly more likely to be self-employed thanpeople born here. Their businesses are often small-scale, withlow startup costs, the report said.

Hasmukh Rama, 57, certainly started that way. Rama wasborn to an Indian family living in Malawi in Africa. The familysent him to India for school, then, in 1969, he came to theUnited States with $2 in his pocket and an acceptancefrom the MBA program at Xavier University in Cincinnati.

He started in the hotel business in Pomona, Calif., at age25, at the urging of his maternal aunt's husband.

'They help each other'"Most Indians are introduced that way," he said."They know some relative or friend already in the hotelbusiness. They learn from each other, they helpeach other to locate the hotel or motel, and they alsohelp financially."

He is now chairman and chief executive of JHM Hotels,where his four brothers and a nephew also work.The company owns 32 hotels and has 1,000 employees.

"I learned on my first property after I bought the hotel,"he said. "I learned everything from making beds tocleaning the parking lot to making minor repairs torenting rooms."Link to the AP News article via The Houston Chronicle

Sunday, October 09, 2005

I was e-mailed an article titledRescuing Jesusby Alessandro Camon atsalon.com "Bush & Co. have hijacked Jesus, using him as the poster child for theircallous worldview. It's time to rescue Christ from his kidnappers."

Due to its length I decided to use just this portion, whichwas ironically written a day before the Earthquake inSouth Asia, one that claimed the lives of so many children asthey sat in their classrooms. A well-written piece :

Natural disasters are often labeled "acts of God." Those who take theexpression literally may think that God is punishing our sins (a beliefshared by some Christians with those Muslims who think Katrina isAllah's reprisal), or they may struggle to reconcile the idea of aninfinitely good God with the devastation he brings upon us. But youdon't have to take the expression literally to feel that natural disasterscall into question the meaning of life. They cut us down to size, andchallenge us to rise up again. They make us mourn for the deadand reach out for the survivors. If we do believe in God, even just alittle bit, they are a true test of our faith, and an opportunity to dowhat we preach: to give, to comfort, to assist.

Wars are acts of man, yet all too often are fought for a "holy" cause,painted as deeds of "infinite justice" or "crusades" of good vs. evil.But it's when we look at the victims that faith is truly tested. A religiousperson will have the chance to show all his horror, regret, compassion,forgiveness. In war, many parents will lose their children, asacrificeso profound that it is more than a human being canbe expectedto bear; a sacrifice that is, in fact, made by God --the Christian one -- and proof of godliness. (In one of the harshest andmost controversial biblical tales, Abraham is ready to sacrifice his sonbefore God, as he believes God asked him to do, but God stops himbefore he goes through with it. However one wants to interpret the tale-- whether it's about obedience or misunderstanding -- the point is, Goddoesn't actually want to impose on a parent the loss of a child.) To thosewho suffer such a loss, we have a chance -- and anobligation --to offer utmost solidarity.*

Liz Hurley and Penguin poo have absolutely nothingto do with each other, which many people may not realizeor care about anyway. Therefore this pic qualifies as justplain gratuitous. Enjoy.-----------------------------------------------------------------------*Penguin poo wins Ig Nobel prize*

Friday, October 07, 2005

LONDON: The happiest Indians in all the world live in Pune and India's Western seaboard is absurdly happy compared to both Delhi, its political centre, and Silicon Alley down south in Bangalore, while Kolkata is our capital of cheerlessness, according to a survey of gross national happiness across the planet.

The survey is published here by GfK-NOP, the market research organisation that happily boasts it figures among the top four worldwide, with sales of EUR 672 million last year and operations in 63 countries.

It reports that more than half of all Pune residents say they are "very happy with the overall quality of life". Pune is closely, if surprisingly, followed by its richer, sassier neighbour, Mumbai, which comes in at 42 per cent. Article from the Times of IndiaWell, Punekars like the ones below seem to know what real happiness is all about ....The Smile Granter Annie Thomas, 82, resident of a Pune old-age home was recently presented with a Casio electronic organ—something she’d wanted for a long time. Today, Annie, a former music teacher, not only plays the organ for her own pleasure, she provides music at the home’s prayer service. Annie is among the 500 people whose lives have been brightened by Anil Bora, a 50-year-old Pune businessman who started the Grant A Smile Foundation. “I’ve always wanted to help people,” Bora says. In 1998, after reading an article on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to terminally ill children, Bora started its Pune chapter. But wanting to help adults as well, he branched off on his own, and four years ago launched Grant A Smile. And in 2003, he opened Rainbow Home, where seriously ill patients and their families can enjoy free holidays together.More stories like this one are in theIndian Reader's Digest And then there's...S m i l e - the Shop With A PurposeSavitri Marketing Institution forLadiesEmpowerment

The movement which begun two years ago has benefited thousands of the women in Pune region, not only by providing them with employment opportunities but empowering them in many other areas. Today there are many success stories of unemployed women turning into successful entrepreneurs.http://www.smilepune.com/index.html

Thursday, October 06, 2005

A New Orleans storm victim shelled out $4.25 in quarters andwon a $1.6 million jackpot at a Louisiana casino where she hadstopped to play the slot machines on her way to shop at aWal-Mart discount store.

"I am a casino fanatic, it relaxes my nerves," said Jacquelyn Sherman,a 57-year-old retired librarian whose fortune changed on Tuesday."I like winning but I never expected to win like this."

Sherman has been sleeping on her sister's floor in Opelousas, Louisiana,since the storm ravaged her house and killed hundreds of New Orleansresidents in late August. Sherman said she is determined to find a new,comfortable home back in New Orleans.

The casino where she got lucky with the slot machine wasEvangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino in Opelousas, near Lafayettewhere many victims of Katrina and later Hurricane Rita sought shelter.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Alaska Airlines today landed the world’s largest king salmon—stretching 120 feet and weighing in at 140,000 pounds—at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon,” sporting the glimmering image ofa wild Alaska king salmon, is among the world’s most intricatelypainted commercial airplanes. Complete with shiny scales,a dorsal fin and gills, the livery on the Alaska Airlines 737-400passenger aircraft is the result of a dedicated team of 30 paintersworking nearly nonstop for 24 days.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Teacher clings to mother in life and death Tue Oct 4,10:09 AM ET A professor of English in southern India loved his mother so much that he lived with her corpse for 20 years. When he died, the pair were laid to rest in the same grave.

Indian performer Gopal Haldar(R) comes out of his houseas his wife(L) looks on in the village of Pakurtala.Haldar, who suffered from malnutrition his whole life andweighs a mere 52 pounds, has been making his living inIndia's Sunderbans mangrove region as a ghost for morethan 40 years (AFP/File/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)

.....Lighting up a hemp cigarette in front of his wife, Haldaracknowledged his love of the herb."(But) when I indulge myself in smoking hemp and playingchess, I wonder if I am a real ghost or a human being,"he said philosophically....

Monday, October 03, 2005

In his last book, ‘Papa' Hemingway meets an IndianUnder Kilimanjaro, the last novel by Nobel laureate ErnestHemingway that hit the bookstores this month, has anIndian character.

The 850-page manuscript was kept in a Cuban bank. It sawthe light of day on September 27 2005 - more than44 years after Hemingway's death in 1961.

Under Kilimanjaro - based on Hemingway's experiences ofan actual African safari months before he received theNobel Prize in 1954 - was released at a simple ceremony atGrand Forks in North Dakota, where its editor,Robert W Lewis, is based.

Talking to this website's newspaper, Lewis revealed that thiswas the first time that a Hemingway book had an Indiancharacter and a liberal sprinkling of Hindi words.

“I had a tough time in learning the meanings of thesewords and getting their correct spellings,” Lewis said.

The character, Singh, owned a general store in Loitokitok- the town closest to the safari camp, said Lewis. This wasthe shop from where Hemmingway got his supplies.Singh's wife, Turkana, was an African.

It was during his interaction with Singh that Hemingwaymade liberal use of Hindi.

Sharing his experiences of editing the manuscript, Lewissaid: “It was a terrific responsibility. We decided that wewould be very conservative while making any changes.But I have enjoyed every part of it. This has been a greatexperience.”-As reported by newindpress.com

As reported by Press Trust of IndiaPosted online: Monday, October 03, 2005 at 1840 hours IST

Washington, October 3: Thousands of wives of skilled professionalsfrom India and other countries who come for temporary work,extending over several years, are increasingly frustrated becausethe visa regimes in the US does not allow spouses and dependentsto work, however qualified they are, a report said today.

Nearly half a million H-1B visas have been issued in the last four yearsand about 300,000 visas have been issued for the professionals'dependents, who cannot work, according to a front-page report inThe Washington Post. "Having a trailing spouse in today's day and ageis not dealt with," said Immigration lawyer Elizabeth Espin Stern ofBaker and McKenzie LLP. We have neglected these individuals andtheir families. It is an arrogant stance and an insensitive one,"the daily quoted her as saying.

The backlog of applications for green cards or permanent residencevisas which are the gateway to citizenship and which allow holders towork is now 300,000. A typical case is that of Hanuma Samavedaliving in the Greater Washington area. She came to the US aftermarrying her husband who is on H-1B. She has an MBA degree andexperience as a finance manager at an accounting firm in India.But here she cannot work unless and until her husband gets a greencard or permanent visa.Full story here

Sunday, October 02, 2005

“If Gandhiji were to return to life now, he would take the nextflight to London, fall at Queen Elizabeth’s feet and beg her tocome back. He would take back his observation that self-government is better than good government.”

These are the words of a man who was virtually the Mahatma’s shadow inhis last five years.

V. Kalyanam, who joined Gandhiji’s staff on his release from Agha KhanPalace in Mumbai after the Quit India Movement, believes Gandhi’sfollowers and successive generations have let him down. “At leastManmohan Singh had the courage to admit the British had goodgovernance. But for their exploitation and racial discrimination, you reallycan’t fault the Raj. Now you not only have a corrupt administration butexploitation and discrimination in the name of class and caste,” he says.- from aHindustan Times article, Oct. 2nd 2005

Saturday, October 01, 2005

I try to keep Politics to a minimum here but had to share this link to anarticle by Cenk Uygur. He co-hosts "The Young Turks" on SiriusSatellite Radio, a show that covers current events from politics to popculture under the motto, "We don't make the news, we make the newssexy."

Everyone is wrong -- from the arrogant neo-clowns who brought you this war tothe mindless bureaucrats who maintain it to the well-intentioned intellectuals that are grasping for a decent and humane way out. Humpty Dumpty has fallen off the wall and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Iraqback together again.

Whether people want to leave or stay, the assumption is that they have what is best for Iraq in mind. But there is no Iraq.

Today General Casey and General Abizaid admitted in the United States Senate that after two and a half years, they have only been able to train one Iraqi battalion. One! You could blame this on the incompetence of the Pentagonor the administration – and one is tempted to because that is usually the correctanswer these days – but there is a better explanation. The Iraqis have noallegiance to their central government. They do not wish to serve in its army orto die for its goals.http://tinyurl.com/9jmuuRead aboutCenk